Legal Marketing Blog

Kenney & McCafferty, P.C. is a law firm renowned for representing tax whistleblowers in complex tax fraud schemes. We have been working on a new site for them and it is now live. Please check it out. http://www.tax-fraud.net/ They are very happy with the final result and so are we.

We’ve had several new website designs go live in the last few weeks. It’s always exciting to see the finished website. We have very creative and talented designers here at Page 1 and we never cease to be amazed at what they come up with! Here are four of our most recent designs:

The Law Firm of Kenney & McCafferty, P.C.
3031C Walton Road #202
Plymouth Meeting, PA 19462

http://www.tax-fraud.net

The Duncan Firm
900 S. Shackleford Road, Suite 725
Little Rock, Arkansas 72211

http://www.duncanfirm.com

Trief & Olk – Erb’s Palsy Attorneys
New York Office
150 E. 58th St., 34th Floor
New York, NY 10155

http://www.erbspalsyinfo.net

Lowry & Associates
835 Forest Ave
Portland, ME

http://www.lowrylaw.com

I was recently asked by an attorney, “Why do you recommend our new website have as many as 50 pages.  Other website marketing firms are quoting me websites with only 10 or 15 pages.”

If your marketing strategy focuses strictly on pay-per-click advertising or you are driving traffic to the website through other means than securing organic search listing, then you don’t need to invest in deeper, more substantive pages.

However, if you want to secure 1^st-page search engine listings on Google in organic listings, then there are several reasons why you should consider more pages.

First, search engines don’t just index websites per se.  They index various assets within websites, like graphics, videos, blogs, and most important, pages within your website as well.  “Universal Search,” changes how you look at your website assets.  The more assets and pages you have, the greater the likelihood an effective optimizer can get one, or more, of them to show up on 1^st-page search results.

Second, the more keyword phrases you target, the more pages you should include.  Each page should be created, written, and optimized for very specific and limited keywords and phrases.  More specialized and focused content pages, targeting specific keywords and phrases, increases your chances that Google will index the page high for your target keyword phrase.

Third, we recommend developing multiple pages of content for your most important and competitive keyword phrases.  Sometimes, having one page devoted to a given keyword phrase is simply not enough.

Before you decide to save a few dollars and buy a 10-page website (especially if you are in a hyper-competitive market), see what type of websites dominate the 1^st-page of search engines.  You may rethink the need for more targeted pages.

Things have changed over the past year in the Internet marketing  world. More and more firms have an online presence, and more and more firms are allocating marketing resources to the Web and social media. As the economy tries to perk up, so will the number of referrals that Internet marketing-savvy law firms get from the Web. Is your firm poised to take advantage of the new developments in online marketing?

Ask yourself these questions:

1. Have you compared your legal website to other local competitors’ websites in the last 12 months?

2. Do you know how many clients are coming to you from the Web?

3. Are you active on Facebook, YouTube, Twitter, etc?

4. Does your website reflect the high level of quality, service and expertise of your firm?

5. Has an outside agency critiqued your legal website and provided recommendations to improve it within the past 12 months?

6. Have you done anything recently to make your website more “interactive,” so visitors develop a rapport with your legal practice such as custom video production?

If you can’t answer “yes” to these questions, you may be missing out on valuable clients, now and in the future.

I recently spoke with an attorney who asked why he needs to update the website with new content on a regular basis. Here are a couple of good reasons:
1- Search engines spider your website and cache a copy of it, and its pages. If it continually visits your site and there is never any changes, it doesn’t see the need to exert resources to frequently come back.
2-Search engines, like Google, want to provide the most accurate information to its users as well. For the same reason you having to take CLE courses to maintain your license to practice, search engines realize that things change and sites that get updated likely have the most recent and accurate information.
3-New content can be focused on target areas of your practice and specific keyword phrases to enhance the amount and density of certain keywords and phrases.
4- Search engines don’t just index websites per se. They index the assets and pages of websites. Thus, the more pages you have, the more focused optimization can be performed on its pages and the greater the likelihood one, or several of them will percolate to the top! The more pages, the better.

In the case of seasonal searches on the web, the 4^th of July brings a unique influx of Internet shoppers. There is a greater chance people will Google for “Fireworks injury attorney” more than any time of the year.  While families and friends experience  fun, food and sunshine, there is always news of someone, somewhere getting seriously hurt from fireworks.

It may be difficult to seek damages for someone who has ignited their own illegal fireworks, but what about the innocent bystanders who get hurt by the action of others?  Those who are injured suddenly have to rapidly consider their options on who to contact for legal assistance, and the Internet will probably be the first place they’ll turn to for help.

So here are some questions to consider this 4^th of July…

Can you website be easily found on the Internet by those seeking justice for their firework-related injuries?  Do you have a page on your website which talks specifically for this?  If you Google “fireworks injury attorney” where does your website rank?

In this particular situation, you should get together with your Internet Marketing specialist to utilize a sponsored link specifically for this time period and others throughout the year.  Or, consider contacting Page 1 Solutions to find out which options will help your website get in front of those searching for legal assistance this holiday.

btw, Have a fun, safe time this 4th of July, and regarding the World Cup, Go USA!!!!

A whole lot goes into creating a website and online marketing strategy. There are also a lot of factors involved in measuring the success of a project. Did we meet client expectations? Did we get the project done in time? Does the website get more traffic from the web? Most importantly does it drive Patients and Clients into their practice? I always try to set realistic expectations.

Setting the right expectations upfront can make or break any project. You must clearly communicate everything they can expect throughout the course of the project. At page 1 we have a team that is handpicked for every project and we must let our team know exactly what’s expected of them, what they should be designing, building, or writing. If your team doesn’t have a clear vision of what they’re doing, or if our client doesn’t understand what we need from them, our project will inevitably fail. If we build something that we like but don’t take in consideration of the client’s needs or never discussed their vision, we will fail again wasting valuable time and resources. Also, make sure everyone is clear about what’s next, and that they have everything they need.

Setting expectations isn’t difficult, but it does take time and knowledge. We need to marry our knowledge and expertise with the client’s wants and needs. We get a lot of people so hooked on imagery of a site but imagery alone does not do well on the search engines. That’s where our knowledge and making crystal clear expectations with the client about what they’ll be getting, up front.

We use a questionnaire form and a few surveys upfront to start setting expectations and getting the clients creative juices flowing. We always encourage the client to ask questions if they don’t understand something. This initial step seems to be long and tedious but it’s laying the foundation of the project for many months to come. You need to take this time to clarify unknowns and draw out hidden objectives.

Throughout the project it is this initial pre-work and staying consistent that will make or break a project. I can’t emphasize enough the important of communication is and butting everything on the table before you just dive in. In most projects things change as you go but by not setting these expectations these changes won’t be slight they will be complete overhauls, wasting time, money and resources. Do the easy stuff consistently and the hard stuff won’t be so hard, and you’re almost always guaranteed to keep clients happy and successful.

Here is a link to a recent press release, announcing Page 1’s win of three Videographer Awards, one for Lowry & Associates, a personal injury law firm in Maine:

http://www.24-7pressrelease.com/press-release/page-1-solutions-wins-three-videographer-awards-155418.php

This is a coveted award within the video industry and it’s a great honor to have received it! Go Page 1!

There is a lot of speculation about how Google will start implementing social search and the effect it will have on traditional Internet marketing.

Matt Cutts, from Google’s search quality team, has developed a educational video explaining how Google is going to utilize social search.

Google Search Video

Dan Goldstein and I wrote an article that was published in Trial Magazine. It was called, “Polish Your Online Identity”. If you’re an AAJ member, you can check it out online. Here’s an excerpt:

Attorneys often hear that their most valuable asset is their reputation. With the advent of social networking and the interactive Web, that advice rings true now more than ever.

In today’s connected world, you know that prospective clients are going straight to the Web to check you out. If they have your name or your firm’s name, they will type it into a search engine. They may find you even without knowing your name if you are savvy–or lucky–enough to be on the first page of Google’s search results when prospective clients search for a lawyer in their area who handles a certain type of case.

Now, with the ubiquity of social networking, prospective clients may research you and your firm online without ever visiting your Web site. Regardless of where they go to find out about you, the image you portray to the public on the Web is extremely important. Your prospective client wants to get a sense of who you are–personally and professionally–before calling your office.